PLEASE HELP ME..... PLEASE!

[missclairey]

I have recentley been saved, so everything is really new to me. Can anyone give me any guidance of books to read etc???
What the best bible to study from???

Any advice is very welcome!

Thank you

Claire

 

[Suzannah]

Hallo there! Welcome to CF!!!!

I have heard it said that the BEST Bible translation is the one you will read.
Some people will say "Only the King James", others will say "Only the Revised Standard", whatever....

Go to the bookstore, and look at various translations and decide for yourself which one you like.
I enjoy the New American Standard, as it is a literal, word for word, translation and is easier to read than the King James, but still has some of the more poetic expression...

As to other books to read, I 'm not certain what sort you are looking for ....I see you are non-denominational and you might not enjoy the books that the Orthodox (me) enjoy....There is a list of books I have found very helpful and inspiring to me, on my CF homepage...click on the link in this post that appears above my signature quotes..

 

[jay1_z]

The Purpose & Power of Praise and Worship by Myle Munroe
The Purpose & Power of Prayer by Myle Munroe

I would start off by reading these two books. They are both excellent and will keep your interest and knowledge of God & the word of God growing. As the title implies they will teach what the purpose & power of these two things are. The latter of the two books is the one I'm reading now. He is teaching:

• Why doesn't prayer seem to work?
• What is prayer?
• Why is prayer necessary?
• How should we pray?
• Why pray to God in the name of Jesus?
• Why is prayer not always answered the way we expect?
• When should we stop praying?
• What role does faith have in the prayer process?
• Do we have to "qualify" to pray?
• If God is sovereign and can do whatever He wishes, then why pray?
• Does prayer affect or change destiny?

 

[cyberwood]

That's awesome! I am so happy to hear that!

Definitely the Bible is the best book ever to read. It is so powerful and will speak to you very intimately (I never knew just how intimately it would speak to me until I became Christian).

I have been told to do this exercise by my pastor, and it has been very helpful in my walk with the Lord. Start reading the Gospel of John, 3 chapters a day. There are 21 in John, so it will take you a week. As you are reading, write down whatever comes to your mind (whatever strikes you) as you read it.

Once that week is done, read it again, and do the same. After that, do it again. And then, after that, do it again (so a total of 4 times).

I too am a child in Christ, and so I have only recently begun my walk with the Lord. I just went through and read the first week of this, and I must say, I am in *total* awe at who the Lord is (spoken to me through John). It's great!!!

I hope this helps some...either way, may the Lord guide you to all knowledge sister!

 

[Suzannah]

Good job and good advice cyber!!!! That is in truth, a very excellent excercise (Gospel of John). Stick with the New Testament for a year maybe....get to know it inside and out...then you can tackle all the history (Old Testament)...

 

[Mr Tom]

Yea, I like the New Living, but many people dont. It's easy to read, but paraphrased, which sometimes causes people not to like it. Bought a NLT for my friend a while ago, he started to read it. I guess it depends what you want cos as much as KJV is more correct, it isn't necessarily easy to understand. But ultimately the choice is yours. I have loads of different bibles, just go and read a few for a while and see which you are more comfortable with.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

A very good bible is the NIV Study Bible. I'm not particularly attached to one translation or another, but this bible is awesome. It has much useful information. You can learn a lot with it.
A more literal trans is the NAS. I enjoy it by itself with no notes nor anything.

Also, and this is unusual for me, I like the Life Application Study Bible in the New Living Translation (NLT). This was given to us by my father-in-law and I have to admit that its good. I'm kind of a purist. We bought a girl one of these bibles a few months ago.

Welcome to the family.

 

[tateziwin]

Welcome to the Family!

I too, am newly saved and found one of the most helpful things for me has been to get 4 different versions of the Bible ( I have got New King James Version, Todays English, Plain English Bible (the Great Book) & Message) and read the same chapter from each one each day and write down important points or questions or scripture comparisons.

It is a very slow and meticulous way of doing things but I really try to concentrate so that the Holy Spirit will help me in my understanding.

I also went out and found a local Christian book shop and bought some books about beginning life as a new Christian...really helpful stuff!

Another thing I did was to buy some cool Christian music to listen to (try Third Days 'Offering' albums or Newsboys) so each day in some way I am immersed in God.

I try to go to bed each night with God on my mind and wake up each morning with Him as my first thought.

Soon I hope to get baptised but in the meantime I am doing lots of research into different denominations ( so far I have figured that I want to belong to the "Christian" church!!).

One last thing...Newsboys sing a song called "Shine" and one line in it says - "Shine...make 'em wonder what you got....",- this is something I think about a lot....I want to shine for the Lord and thinking this song line reminds me that my goal is to please Him and bring others into His light.

Hope this helps a bit!

 

[Neenie]

I recommend the Book "what is so amazing about Grace" by Phillip Yancy. And "The Message" bible translated by Eugene Peterson, it is very easy to understand for a new Christian

 

[Beanface]

I, like many of you, was recently saved, and I try to read at least some of the bible every night (even if just a chapter or two) and not read it, but re-read it, and write down everything that I get out of it. the fact taht yuo are thinking about it rather than just reading the words off the page really helps you to understand it better, and yuo get more out of it

 

[tapero]

Dear Miss Clairey,

I praise God for your salvation. How wonderful to hear such great news that you are saved. God will never leave you nor forsake you. There is also, no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, which you now are. When you believed the Holy Spirit indwelled you. He will guide you into all truth.

For bibles, the NIV (New International Version) is easy to read. I've heard that the New King James is the best translation, but I've read the NIV so long, I can't switch. A bible that is kind of fun because it is more story oriented is the Good News Bible. There are several types of those bibles, and it's more like reading a story, and can help if you want to read through a book with ease. I read the Good News for a long time, and was glad that I started with that, and then I went to the NIV. The King James Bible is difficult to understand because it is not in today's lingo.

I enjoy reading books about missionaries as well as reading biographies. These have helped me the most since they show me the walk. That is where we learn so much; from others.

I wish you well.

Take care, tapero

 

[The Midge]

I have recentley been saved, so everything is really new to me. Can anyone give me any guidance of books to read etc???
What the best bible to study from???

Any advice is very welcome!

Thank you

Claire

The Bible: Available in any colour as long as it is read.

If you are going to be serious about bible study you will want two or three versions to compare and give a different angle on meanings. Try www.biblegateway.com to see different translations on line. They have a handy search feature to help you find the passage you want.

You could try reading Basic Christianity- John Stott or Discipleship- David Watson. A Celebration of Discipline by Forster will give you a more catholic/ comtemplative angle but is a more advanced read. I bet there are thousands of good introductory books around since I was a new Christian.

 

[Mr Tom]

I recommend the Book "what is so amazing about Grace" by Phillip Yancy. And "The Message" bible translated by Eugene Peterson, it is very easy to understand for a new Christian

Ooooh the Message, very complicated and confusing for me! lol! but if it isnt for you then thats cool! it probably helps being American, I struggle because it is very Americanised if u see where I am coming from. Life Application yes thats a good one.

Some interesting ones that I have that may not be all that useful to a born again Christian :

The Bible in Cockney
NT in Limeric Verse
OT in the dialect of the Black Country

Ho hum, they have amused me plenty a time. Maybe should use them in a debate sometime...

 

[Tappanga]

I've read somewhere that NIV is the best to just read and NASB is the best for study. But I think it's preference.

I have been told to do this exercise by my pastor, and it has been very helpful in my walk with the Lord. Start reading the Gospel of John, 3 chapters a day. There are 21 in John, so it will take you a week. As you are reading, write down whatever comes to your mind (whatever strikes you) as you read it.

Once that week is done, read it again, and do the same. After that, do it again. And then, after that, do it again (so a total of 4 times).

In addition to this fabulous advice, try this:

There are 31 chapters in Proverbs. There are around that many days in a month. Read one chapter a day. Since today is the 16th, you'd read Proverbs 16. Do this every month. You can never read the Bible too much!

If you want to add to this, there are 150 chapters in Psalms. You could add 5 per day. That's a lot of bible reading time, so if you can't get that much in, that's fine. Just read what you can, as much as you can. Meditate on what you've read and talk with God about it.

If you ever want to chat, PM me!

 

[cat has felt the light!]

welcome to the kingdom hunny,
Bible's are incredibly personal I find...I found it best to borrow my boyfriends and read a few excerpts from his mums different ones too and eventually chose a youth bible which puts it in simple language without being patronising, but being 20 you might find a grown up version better
try reading the bible starting in a place thats best for you, I started at the beginning and have recently acquired a book called cover to cover which takes you smoothly through reading the whole thing in a year. I have also signed up with the mailing list on UCB for the word for today which is great for when you are stuck for time, I find it best to read the extract and words that go with it each day and then read that passage in the bible. To sign up is free, just co to the web page which is UCB.co.uk or summat! but their is a waiting list as long as your arm
generally, just have fun with it, good luck,
C@ xx